Where's the learning in lifelong participation?

This article provides a retrospective review and analysis of New Labour’s policies in relation to lifelong learning. New Labour’s plans to promote social inclusion through lifelong learning resulted in a focus upon participation in terms of increasing the numbers of students involved in formal learning and increasing their participation in classroom activities. Engaging in lifelong learning is considered to have broader social benefits for individuals and society, above and beyond purely academic or vocational gains, such as reduced crime and better health and the creation of a more tolerant society. The most frequently cited social benefit from participation in lifelong learning is increased engagement with one’s local community. In what could be seen as a positive move away from an instrumental focus upon employability, this article suggests that participation in lifelong learning has been used by New Labour to promote further participation in the community. This shifts the focus of learning away from the acquisition of skills or knowledge (or indeed any outcome) onto the act of participation. This article questions whether lifelong learning has become reduced to lifelong participation.